Bulgaria extradites Istanbul attack's suspect to Türkiye

The suspect involved in Istanbul's terrorist attack in Taksim district was extradited to Türkiye, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu announced on Tuesday.

Bulgarian officials delivered Hazni Gölge, who helped fugitive suspect Bilal Hassan escape the country after the terror bombing at the border between the two countries after Turkish authorities determined he was in the Balkan country, Interior Minister Soylu said during a TV interview on Tuesday.

"We discussed the issue with (authorities in) Bulgaria. They delivered him (Gölge) to us in Edirne at around 6.00 p.m. (15:00GMT). We thank Bulgaria for the cooperation," the minister added.

Hassan had dropped off the perpetrator of the bombing on the day of the attack that killed six people and left 81 injured on Istanbul's busy Istiklal Avenue.

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office's investigation into the terror attack is underway, with 59 suspects taken under custody, 24 of whom are under arrest as part of the investigation.